Me: Yep, it’s time. Don’t try and stop me. It’s gonna be 2013 soon & I wanna do something dramatic. Don’t worry, I’m going to look online first to see if i can come up with the right reference photo before I go to the salon.

& Voila! This moment was pretty much the genesis of Swirl Girl Army as I spent the next few hours googling everything from “Black Celeb Hairstyles” to “Mixed Girl Hairstyles” to just plain old “Celeb Hairstyles” to--you name it. It wasn’t until out of complete curiosity--and total desperation for finding the right hairstyle-- that I googled “mixed girl blogs” only to find out that there was a surprising shortage of multi-cultural/multi-ethnic bloggers online when it came to fashion, hair, and beauty. My thoughts were “It’s 2013!!! how is there a shortage of multicultural bloggers!?”

Even now, it still blows my mind!

How do you decide who to feature on your website?

Well, A Swirl Girl is someone who identifies herself as being multi-cultural and/or multi-ethnic. She’s sort of a triple threat. She’s ambitious, confident, dreams big about changing the world and achieves all of it while looking good! To me, that’s the holy grail. A successful woman who looks good while achieving her dreams!

I’ll also make the point here that a swirl girl can be anyone--It’s not about skin color, It’s about how you see and identify yourself.

What is your favourite current fashion trend/ item/ style (answer which ever you want)?

At the moment, I am really obsessed with KENZO. I love BOLD use of color done well and mixed tastefully.

Name three of your favourite beauty products: well aside from the obvious which is lots of water, sleep, and dark green veggies my current favs are as follows:

1. Define-A-Lash Mascara by Maybelline. I love this product! I abandoned it for a while for another mascara but then was reintroduced to it by my roommate & now i’m hooked again. It’s the best.

2. Kiehl’s Superbly Efficient Anti-Perspirant and Deodorant Cream. The absolute best deodorant out there in the game. No contest. Believe me.

What advice would you give to someone struggling with their mixed race identity?

I asked an Indian yogi once, “If you had one piece of advice to give to me what would it be?” His response was, “Acceptance.”

Once you change the way you think about yourself and accept/love yourself for who you are, everything thereafter starts falling into place. Also, amplify what makes you unique and use it to your

strengths! Because at the end of the day, no one wants to be the same as everyone else.

Who inspires you and why?

I can go on and on about the type of people that inspire me but this time i’ll spare you and keep it semi-short:

Anyone who dares to be different, works hard, and stays positive. I also strongly admire gentle, selfless, open-hearted people who have respect for all living things and constantly strive to better themselves, others and the world.